UAS.OPEN.020 UAS operations in subcategory Over People (A1)

SI 2025/1106

Text in magenta in force from 1 January 2028

UAS operations in subcategory Over People (A1) shall comply with all of the following conditions:

(1)  [...];

(2) be conducted in such a way that the remote pilot of the unmanned aircraft may overfly uninvolved persons, but shall never overfly assemblies of people;]

(3)  by way of derogation from point (d) of paragraph 1 of Article 4, be conducted, when the follow-me mode is active, up to a distance of 50 metres from the remote pilot;

(4)  be performed by a remote pilot who:

  1. is familiar with manufacturer’s instructions provided by the manufacturer of the UAS;

  2. other than in the case of an unmanned aircraft with an MTOM of less than 100 g, has completed an online training course followed by completing successfully an online theoretical knowledge examination provided by the CAA achieving at least 75% of the overall marks. The examination shall comprise 40 multiple-choice questions distributed appropriately across the following subjects:

    (i)  air safety;

    (ii)  airspace restrictions;

    (iii)  aviation regulation;

    (iv)  human performance limitations;

    (v)  operational procedures;

    (vi)  UAS general knowledge;

    (vii)  privacy and data protection;

    (viii)  insurance;

    (ix)  security.

(5)  be performed with an unmanned aircraft that:

  1. has an MTOM of less than 100 g; or

  2. has an MTOM of less than 250 g, does not comply with the requirements in Part 1 or Part 2 of the Annex to the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945 and was placed on the market before 1st January 2026; or

[Editorial note: point (zb) will be replaced by the following on 1 January 2028:

  1. has an MTOM of less than 250 g, does not comply with the requirements in Part 1 or Part 2 of the Annex to the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945 and was placed on the market before 1st January 2026 and, if equipped with a camera, is operated with active and updated direct remote identification system; or]

  1. has an MTOM, including payload, of less than 250 g and a maximum operating speed of less than 19 m/s, in the case of a privately built UAS; or

    [Editorial note: point (a) will be replaced by the following on 1 January 2028:

    has an MTOM, including payload, of less than 250 g and a maximum operating speed of less than 19 m/s and, if equipped with a camera, is operated with active and updated direct remote identification system in the case of a privately built UAS; or]

  2. [...]

  3. is marked as class UK0 and complies with the requirements of that class, as defined in Part 1 of the Annex to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945; or

    [Editorial note: point (c) will be replaced by the following on 1 January 2028:

    is marked as class UK0 and complies with the requirements of that class, as defined in Part 1 of the Annex to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945 and, if equipped with a camera, is operated with active and updated direct remote identification system and geo-awareness function; or]

  4. is marked as class UK1 and complies with the requirements of that class, as defined in Part 2 of the Annex to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945 and is operated with active and updated direct remote identification system and geo-awareness function.